The Mission of the 8th Aerial
Port Squadron's Mobility Operations Branch
(8 APS MOB) was to assure that the C-7, C-123
& C-130's landing at remote airstrips were
quickly and safely loaded and unloaded. Our 3
7-man teams served as "the airport" at remote,
often quite dangerous locations "in the bush".

Most of our missions during 1970 were in support
of the Fifth Special Forces and First Air Cav,
but over the years, our teams went about
everywhere and supported a wide range of ground
units - including the US and Vietnamese Marines.
A MOB Team was at Khe Sanh throughout the
infamous siege in 1968. Our teams were there and
they distinguished ourselves.

We were there again in May of 1970, when the war
overflowed into Cambodia for a while. It was 8th
MOB crews - augmented with volunteers from
Danang & Cam Ranh - that kept the supplies
flowing into the places it was needed.

8th MOB was there at Khe Sanh again, years later
as Lam Son 719 sent troops into Laos.

8th APS MOB not only covered III Corps and IV
Corps. Artillery Outposts and Special Forces
Camps, but went pretty much anywhere in the
country in support of Tactical Airlift Missions
in remote areas.

MOB Teams were generally 7 men. 3-4 (AFSC 60751)
Loadmasters and 3-4 (AFSC 60551) Air Cargo
Specialists. This combination gave our teams the
resources to plan, load and balance and secure
cargo in any plane that landed - and had to take
off from - anywhere in Vietnam.

Typical Load for an AT in the field - US
Army 102 howizter, about to be loaded onto C-123
at Djamap, spring, 1970A1C Runfeldt, TSgt Shinley
============
We used 6k Rough Terrain Forklifts and 10K Adverse
Terrain Forklifts, depending upon the mission and
the size of the aircraft we were working with. For
small fields that handled only Caribous, we worked
by hand. When we flew into a field that could
handle a C-123, we'd bring along a 6k RT. If the
airstrip could handle a C-130. we'd use the 10K AT
- our favorite.

Today, the 10K AT is still a favorite
among Air Mobility Command crews.

It was a dangerous job, and our commander Col
Lisec once lamented that during his time, he'd had
to hand out 18 Purple Hearts to members of 8th
Aerialport Squadron - many of which were awarded
to MOB Team members...

And Webb Layton was killed at Budop in December of
1969.

This web site is about - and is dedicated to -
those guys who served in 8th MOB - and in related
units of 8th, 14th & 15th Aerialport
Squadrons, Operating Locations and Detachments in
Vietnam.

Between 1962 and 1973, Military Air Transport
Service/Military Airlift Command and Tactical Air
Command transports airlifted more than 7 million
tons — passengers and cargo — within the theater
area.

By comparison, Allied aircraft carried about 2
million tons during the Berlin Airlift and ¾
million tons during the Korean War. As in World
War II and the Korean Conflict, tactical
airlifters again proved in Vietnam that they could
deliver the goods.

Their success
cost dearly, however, as 53 C-130s, 50 C-123s
and 20 C-7s were lost along with 269 crew
members either killed or missing in action.8th APS Commander Col. Victor Lisec
reported in 1970 that he presented
18 Purple Hearts to members of the 8th
Aerialport unit since he took command in November
of 1969 - and two of them were awarded to one
member - possibly the only aerial porter to
receive two Purple Hearts during one tour in
Vietnam.

2014.10.13 - Jim
Wade's son (SMSgt Jeff Wade) returns from
deployment and surprises daughter at school.
(Jim spent quite a bit of time in Vietnam during
multiple tours and was a member of 8th APS MOB
1969-70.) see
video at KATV web site.

THE PHOTO WE'D BEEN
SEEKING FOR ALMOST TWENTY YEARS

Sgt Neil
Brown and his 10kAT at Budop, November,
1969.

Sgt Brown had been separating Fuel
Bladders and Pallets of Live Ammo during a
mortar attack when an incoming mortar
round ignited a fuel bladder right behind
him. He could not move forward; he could
not back up. He was trapped in the blaze
and had to abandon his forklift and escape
on foot. The ensuing fire and explosions
continued for hours, effectively
destroying the entire supply of both fuel
and ammunition - from small arms to
howitzer shells, as can be seen in the
foreground.

After the fire was over and explosions had
died down, this was what was left of the
10 K Adverse Terrain forklift.

This is the photo we have been trying to
track down for many years.
A framed copy of this photo was on the
wall outside of 8th APS Squadron Commander
Col. Lisec's office at TSN and was the
first photo many of us saw of the MOB
teams at work in Vietnam when we arrived
there in January of 1970.
photo courtesy of Connie Lisec from the
collection of Colonel Victor Lisec.